Muppets/Henson/Sesame Street Year in Review, 2012

As we venture into the year 2013, thought it would a good time to look back at just some of the highlights and yes, a couple not so good things from the past year surrounding The Muppets, The Jim Henson Company and Sesame Workshop.


January, 2012

"The Muppets" WON Critic's Choice Award for Best Original Song -
"Life's a Happy Song"

January 24 - The Muppets received an Academy Award nomination for "Man or Muppet" for Best Original Song. 

Tale of Sand comic released - the lost screenplay written by Jim Henson and Jerry Juhl. Ended up winning 2 Harvey Awards and the 2012 Eisner Award 


February, 2012

February 26 - "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets" WON the Academy Award for Best Original Song.


March, 2012

March 1 - Disney announces that there will be a sequel to 2011's "The Muppets". James Bobin, Nicholas Stoller and Bret McKenzie will all return. Jason Segal will not.

March 20 - The Muppets received their star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Also on March 20, "The Muppets" came to DVD and Blu-ray.

Also on March 20, first announced in 2008, concept art for The Jim Henson Company's "Happytime Murders" is released. It is based on a story by filmmakersTodd Berger and Dee Austin Robertson and is being directed by Brian Henson under the Henson Alternative (ha!) wing of the company. The film is a R rated comedy and will star Katherine Heigl. 


April, 2012

April 3 - Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey, is released on DVD.

April 13 - New York named The Muppets their Official Family Ambassadors for 2012 and beyond. 

April 14 - Jim Henson's Musical World Concert at Carnegie Hall, the worlds of Jim Henson - Muppets, Sesame Street and Fraggle Rock came together in two shows to celebrate Jim Henson through music. 

April 26 - Kermit's and Miss Piggy's appearance at the Walt Disney Company's panel at  CinemaCon 2012, mentioned once again that Disney and The Muppets will be making a sequel to 2011's "The Muppets".


May, 2012

May 21 -  The Webby Awards. The Muppets and Sesame Street Win Webbys.

Webby People's Voice Winner - Online Film and Video: Viral -
"The Muppet Show Theme Song" - Music Video with OK GO 

Webby People's Voice Winner - Websites - Movie and Film -
"The Muppets Never-ending Mahna Mahna Phenomena"

Webby People's Voice Winner - Websites - Home/Welcome Page Websites - Youth
SesameStreet.Org

In celebration of Fraggle Rock's 30th Anniversary, The Jim Henson Company invited artists to submit artwork of it's characters - the Fraggles, The Doozers, Sprocket, Traveling Matt and the Gorgs. One winner eventually had their artwork featured and produced on select merchandise items for Fraggle Rock's 30th Anniversary, in addition received a private tour of the Jim Henson design studios, followed by invitation to Fraggle Rock's 30th Anniversary party in Los Angeles.

May 9 - Announced that The Muppets, Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and the entire Muppet gang will be a major part of this year's Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal for two shows on July 26. 

May 30 - News broke that The Jim Henson Company had hired two writers to work on another version of their "Fraggle Rock" movie script. Jim Burit and Alex Manugian, co-writers of "Rango".


June, 2012

Sesame Street wins seven Daytime Emmy Awards. Kevin Clash wins his eighth Emmy Award for his performance as Elmo.

Announced that a Sesame Street movie was officially in the works, picked up by 20th Century Fox for development. The film will be written by Sesame Street head-writer Joey Mazzarino.  


July, 2012

Doozer animated series announced and goes into production.

The Jim Henson Company ends association with Chick-Fil-A over their negative stance on gay marriage. 

Copper Pot Pictures - filmmakers of the upcoming "I am Big Bird" documentary launched their I am Big Bird Kickstarter Campaign to raise $100,000 to finish the film. Not only did they reach that amount, they exceeded it before their goal date. 

July 26 - Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and the entire Muppet gang did two sold out shows at this year's Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal


August, 2012

This was a VERY sad month for Muppet and Sesame Street Fans.

August 23- The passing of the Jerry Nelson at the age of 78


September, 2012

NEW Fraggle Music Video. In the year of their 30th anniversary, The Jim Henson Company, Chris Hardwick, The Nerdist Channel, and the Ben Folds Five, "Do It Anyway" is released featuring the Fraggles.


October, 2012

Big Bird becomes the subject and all the talk on social media after being mentioned in the first 2012 Presidential Debate in the USA. Leads to appearance on Saturday Night Live.

October 27 - Tribute to Jerry Nelson at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City. 

October 30th -  "All I Need is Love," the new hit single from Cee Lo Green's Cee Lo's Magic Moment CD is released, official video of song follows not long after. 


November, 2012

November 6th - "The Muppet Christmas Carol" is released on Blu-ray for the first time. On November 23, the film is re-released in cinemas in the UK, 20 years after its initial release.

From the Jim Henson Archives, Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal, a new book compiled and written by Karen Falk, The Jim Henson Company's head archivist is released. 

Kevin Clash's personal troubles leads to his unfortunate resignation from "Sesame Street" and the Elmo character.


December, 2012

December 4 - MuppetsHenson the website debuts
(hope this is a highlight for you!)

Imagination Illustrated the amazing book from the archives of The Jim Henson Company was released. The highlight item of the year! 

Neil Patrick Harris, The Nerdist Channel and The Jim Henson Company produce Neil's Puppet Dreams webisodes.

Ty Burrell joins the cast of "The Muppets 2". 
Ricky Gervais signs on as one of the lead actors.


Coming in January, 2013

"The Muppets 2"will begin filming in England.